16 August 2017 Current Affairs
China Bans Imports from N. Korea as part of U.N. sanctions
China will halt iron, iron ore and seafood imports from North Korea, following through on new UN sanctions after U.S. pressure for Beijing to strong arm Pyongyang over its ally’s nuclear programme. The United Nations Security Council, including permanent member Beijing, approved tough sanctions against Pyongyang that could cost the country $1 billion a year. China, which is suspected of failing to enforce past UN measures, accounts for 90% of North Korea’s trade. Among the latest banned products, China imported $74.4 million worth of iron ore in the first five months of this year, almost equalling the figure for all of 2016.
India to host Steering Committee Meeting of TAPI Gas Pipeline
India (New Delhi) will host the next steering committee meeting of the proposed 1,814 kilometre-long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. The decision came during the sixth joint Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting on trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation. The meeting was followed by a meeting between visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.
Alexander Zverev beats Roger Federer to win 2017 Rogers Cup
Germany’s Alexander Zverev has defeated Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 to claim his second Masters 1000 title in Montreal, Canada. With this, Zverev became the third man to beat Federer in the year 2017. By claiming the 2017 Rogers Cup, Zverev became the first player outside the Big Four to win multiple Masters 1000 titles in a season since David Nalbandian in 2007. Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer now have five tournament titles this year.
Norway has the fastest mobile internet in the world
Norway has the fastest mobile Internet in the world, according to broadband testing app Ookla. The Netherlands and Hungary are ranked number two and three on the list of the world’s fastest mobile networks. In only 13 months, Norway has jumped from 11th to first place on the list of world best providers of fast Internet connection. The average Internet speed of Norwegians’ mobile phones has increased by 69% during the last year and has a speed of 52.6 Mbps.
Odisha launched ‘DAMON’ to prevent spread of malaria
Odisha Government will soon launch “Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran” (DAMON), a special programme to prevent the spread of malaria in remote areas of Ganjam district. Under this programme, camps will be held in remote areas for mass test for malaria. As many as 103 camps will be held in the next three months. Around 15,000 people would be covered under the programme. The health officials have identified over 135 remote villages under the jurisdiction of five community health centres as malaria prone areas. The community health centres that have been identified are Patrapur, Adapada, Badagada, Dharakote and Gallery.
Australia to get World’s Biggest Single Tower Solar Thermal Plant
Australian state government has approved the world’s biggest single tower solar thermal power plant, a 150-megawatt structure to be built in South Australia by 2020. Solar thermal technology uses mirrors to concentrate the Sun’s light at the top of a tower. This heats the stored molten salt and the heat is then used to operate steam turbines. The Aurora Solar Energy Project will be built and managed by SolarReserve company.
Melbourne named ‘World’s Most Liveable City’ for seventh-straight year
Melbourne (in Australia) has been named the World’s Most Liveable City for an incredible seventh-straight year. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Liveability Index 2017 ranks 140 of the world’s best cities and once again, Melbourne has come out on top – securing perfect scores for healthcare, education and infrastructure. Melbourne scored an overall rating of 97.5 out of 100 on the liveability index. Damascus in Syria was deemed the world’s worst among the 140 cities surveyed. It is the first time in the survey’s 15-year history that a city has held the No 1 rank in its own right for seven consecutive years. The Canadian cities of Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary took the next positions, with Adelaide in a tie with Calgary for fifth place.
Aeroplanes may be affecting Ozone, Monsoon
A recent study, conducted by climate researchers from multiple institutions in India, concluded that aeroplanes may be ejecting significant amounts of black carbon that may be depleting the ozone layer. It is the first time that any group in the world has shown that black carbon from aircraft can go to the stratosphere and affect the ozone layer.
India’s first Partition Museum to come up in Amritsar
India’s first museum on Partition of the Indian subcontinent will open in Amritsar Punjab, as India and Pakistan celebrate 70 years as independent nations. The Punjab government has joined hands with the World Bank to set up India’s first ever official Partition museum at Amritsar, barely 30 km from Pakistan. The museum will include photographs, newspaper clippings, donated personal items, and screens showing video interviews with survivors. It will also have ‘The Gallery of Hope’, where visitors can scribble messages of love and peace. Tickets are priced low at Rs10 for Indians and Rs150 for foreigners.
P B Balaji named Tata Motors New CFO
Tata Motors announced the appointment of P B Balaji as the new Chief Financial Officer, Tata Motors Group from November 2017 replacing C R Ramakrishnan, the current CFO who retires by September 30, having already served a several extensions. Having started his career with Unilever in 1995 and worked in different corporate finance roles across Asian markets, Switzerland, UK and India, Balaji is very well oriented in global finance stream with over two decades of experience in the corporate sector. Since 2014, Balaji has been heading the finance function as the Chief Financial Officer of Hindustan Unilever.
Nepal, China signed three pacts to boost energy, economic ties
China and Nepal have signed three pacts to further boost their ties in power, energy and economic sectors. The agreements signed cover oil and gas resources exploration, economic and technological cooperation and promotion of investment. These agreements were signed after visiting Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yng held discussions with Nepal’s Deputy Prmie Minsters Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar and Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
KVGB bags Best Performer Award
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has conferred the ‘best performance award’ for 2015-16 and 2016-17 to Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB) for its work in the field of credit-linking joint liability groups (JLGs). 1,194 JLGs(Joint Liability Group) were credit-linked by disbursing Rs 19.38 crore during 2016-17. The outstanding accounts under JLGs stood at 6,329 involving an amount of Rs 63.83 crore.
Italy to host G-7 Interior Ministers summit on security
Italy would be hosting the summit of the Group of Seven Interior Ministers on security issues in October 2017. According to Italy’s Interior Minister, Macro Minniti, the meaning is being organised at the request of Italy’s G-7 partners-Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States. Italy currently holds the rotating helm of the G-7 industrialised nations.